Book-inspired Cakes

July 22, 2013 by
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Recently, there was a fun BuzzFeed post that highlighted great cake decorations inspired by books. Since cooking and books are kinda what we're all about - we couldn't let this post go by without comment. Here are photos of five of our favorites - check out 24 Incredible Cakes Inspired by Books for 19 more: By charmcitycakeswest.com By  Fancy That Cake… read more

Just what is Za’atar?

July 21, 2013 by
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Recently, we were at a farmer's market and noticed that a vendor was selling homemade Mozzarella flavored with Za'atar. And it dawned on us that we were seeing that ingredient more and more, so we were inspired to do a little research. It turns out that Za'atar has a double personality. It is a name used for an herb in… read more

Sour may be the new hot and spicy

July 19, 2013 by
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  Apparently, sour is the new spicy- i.e. the latest taste craze sweeping the U.S. (and other parts of the world). Recently we found two sources for this perception.    In Michael Pollan's new book, Cooked, he only presents four recipes backing up his intense discussions of cooking with fire (grilling), water (braising), air (bread), and dirt (fermentation). In the… read more

New cooking ideas to use up herbs

July 18, 2013 by
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We've all had the problem of a) buying a bundle of fresh herbs when only a small amount is needed, or b) growing a pot of herbs and having to deal with a surplus. While drying and preserving them is always a good idea, we also like the idea of meeting the culinary challenge this problem poses. And, to help,… read more

Mislabeled fish fillets can fool chefs, along with consumers

July 17, 2013 by
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Susie has an interesting blog today describing two trends in fish cookbooks (check out Coastal features.) So it seemed appropriate to call attention to this NPR features on fish fillets, "How Well Do You Know Your Fish Fillets? Even Chefs Can Be Fooled." They point to a study by Oceana: "Oceana, a conservation group, has been beating the drum about… read more

Coastal features

July 16, 2013 by
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Summer's a slow time in cookbook publishing, but I notice one category of books has kept up a steady, diligent trickle: seafood books.  This isn't totally surprising, since summer's the time for beachgoers and weekend fishermen and fried shellfish.  We had a good crop of these books a couple of years ago, but last year was an off year.  Now… read more

Introducing herb crystals

July 16, 2013 by
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The recent Fancy Food Show apparently had a number of interesting items, discussions of some of them have been popping up on blogs recently. We thought one of the most interesting were herb crystals. According to  Regina Schrambling at Epicurious, they're quite tasty. And she recommends several ways to use them, "I could imagine them dusted over shortbread, for instance,… read more

Efficiently blind-baking pie shells without weights

July 15, 2013 by
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There's an excellent video on Bake, by a King Arthur Flour's baker, on efficiently blind-baking a pie shell without weights or shrinkage. When blind baking pie shells (essentially baking an empty pie shell so it either gets a head start or is totally baked before ingredients are added) there can be a tradeoff between a cumbersome technique (adding beans or… read more

Does it make sense to go to culinary school?

July 14, 2013 by
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Amy McKeever over at Eater recently took a hard look at The Pros and Cons of Culinary Education.  As her introduction reads, " "The best known culinary schools in the country come with price tags that range anywhere from$35,000 to $54,000 for a two-year associate's degree or up to about$109,000 for a bachelor's degree. All this for a career path… read more

How to clean your coffee grinder

July 12, 2013 by
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The Chow has some very practical advice for anyone that loves to grind their own coffee beans - 4 Ways to Clean Your Coffee Grinder. After all, you can't put the grinder in water. The answer is very practical: "...grind something in the grinder that will absorb the oils and odors without adding any of its own." Examples include instant… read more

Food quiz: Can you tell if these foods are fruits or vegetables?

July 11, 2013 by
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The British press is doing a lot to entertain themselves waiting for the Royal baby, and a good example is this test from the Telegraph, Do you know your fruit from your vegetables?  Hint: This is based on a scientific definition rather than a culinary one. Go there now if you want to take the test without help. For those… read more

The new berry varieties and how to keep berries fresh longer

July 10, 2013 by
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The Wall Street Journal just ran an interesting story on all the new berry varieties that are gaining market acceptance. Called America's Next Top Super Berry , the Journal notes that with blueberries gaining major kudos for health claims, all berries have benefited from the same claims: "In the past two years, weekly same-store supermarket sales of berries have risen 18%,… read more

Sugar & spice & everything nice

July 9, 2013 by
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Because I enjoy asking for trouble, I thought I'd share a question which arose in my mind the other day, when a new book dropped out its manila envelope and I caught the title: Stacie Bakes, it declared. I was suddenly struck by déjà vu. Why did this sound so familiar?  My thoughts went instantly to Joy the Baker and One Girl… read more

Modern Australian food 101

July 9, 2013 by
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Side note: We wanted to alert our readers that the Apple App Store is celebrating their 5th anniversary with some free apps, including Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything. In an article by Rebecca Morris over at Serious Eats -  An Introduction to Modern-Day Australian Food - an American expat moves to Australia and devotes her time to deciding what makes… read more

Cocktail vocabulary lesson

July 8, 2013 by
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There's something obnoxious about people who insist on always using the proper terminology for food - after all, if someone wants to call something a soufflé that's not made with an egg yolk base and egg whites - it's OK as long as the dish is airy and the diner isn't led astray. But the worst sinners seem to be… read more

Intriguing new kitchen tools

July 7, 2013 by
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    The Kitchn recently ran a report from the Total Home Event, held in New York, which highlighted intriguing new kitchen tools from select suppliers. In Check It Out! New Kitchen Tools from Le Creuset, Casabella, Simplehuman & More they describe upcoming items including the rechargeable automatic soap dispenser, silicone jiggers, and a two-in-one vegetable scrubber. The two items that… read more

20 ways to use vegetable and fruit peels (besides composting)

July 5, 2013 by
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  Over at Mother Nature, they've compiled 20 uses for leftover fruit and vegetable peels. And they haven't restricted the categories, including general home and beauty uses besides food. Here are some of our favorites - check out the article for more food suggestions plus 4 beauty ideas and 4 home ideas: Make citrus extract powder (which can then be… read more

Learn economics from your cookbooks

July 3, 2013 by
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Jane recently pointed out a thought-provoking article from Foreign Policy - not a usual source of inspiration for these blogs. In his article, The Cookbook Theory of Economics, Tyler Cowen presents an insightful thesis on how to look at cuisine-specific cookbooks and judge the economic status of the underlying country and its possible future development - among other things. For example,… read more

The value of single-subject cookbooks

July 2, 2013 by
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Single-subject cookbooks are suddenly becoming quite popular. Susie discussed this trend in her blog, Return of the single subject cookbook, giving them a ringing endorsement, " all the things we love about books - the sheer amount of  value packed into one appealing, portable package - are what make single-subject books so irreplaceable." To carry on the discussion, there's an interesting article asking Should… read more

Is half a loaf better than one?

July 1, 2013 by
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By and large, I think food photography has only gotten better and better in the decades since its aspicky, orange 1960's lowpoint.  Digital cameras mean mistakes are cheap and easily fixed, and the food blogging revolution has made outstanding imagery pretty much the norm. The technically perfect photo - crisp, well-lit, large as life or larger - has been a… read more

Words Jamie Oliver would never say

July 1, 2013 by
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Jamie Oliver recently posted on Instagram a photo of all the words he would never say. These include "moist, gush, encrusted, minge, flange, stuffed, gash, and smeared." Actually, Oliver appears to be consistently concerned about vocabulary. Last year, a server at one of his restaurants leaked a long list of words they were supposed to say to push specials. As reported… read more

Does Amazon’s expansion mean cyber-groceries are here to stay?

June 30, 2013 by
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Amazon recently announced an expansion of its online grocery delivery service. Formerly available only in Seattle, it's now expanding to Los Angeles. Basically, the company is offering customers same-day and early-morning delivery on more than 500,000 products, such as apples, bread, and even mozzarella di bufala from variety of stores. In short they're not only competing against local stores, but also… read more

Interview with William Sitwell

June 28, 2013 by
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William Sitwell describes himself as "a writer, editor (of [our indexed magazine]  Waitrose Kitchen), and presenter who can't stop eating." He talked to us about the unique approach and inspiration behind his new book,  A History of Food in 100 Recipes (to enter and win one of three free copies, check out this blog):  "I suppose it all started when a… read more

June 2013 cookbook roundup

June 28, 2013 by
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Every month Susie Chang reviews new cookbook releases and notes trends in the United States. And she may also occasionally throw in a review of a "not-quite cookbook."  And for our non-U.S. members, Jane and Fiona provide similar reviews for new U.K., Australia, and New Zealand releases. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Summer vacation is coming fast - which means books on gardens and… read more

Celebrating 4,000 cookbooks indexed with a cookbook giveaway, Part I

June 28, 2013 by
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We just passed the 4,000 mark in indexed cookbooks! And to celebrate, we have two cookbook giveaways.* This post is to win one of three copies of the first book, A History of Food in 100 Recipes, by our interviewed author this month,  William Sitwell. To meet this esteemed Bristish writer, check out our interview.  To enter, just write a comment… read more
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